mtl008 Chapter 226 Why Don’t You Help Your Son?
Chapter 226 Why Don’t You Help Your Son?
The once invincible general knelt on one knee in front of him. Although his posture was still upright, his black hair had long turned white.
He is obviously the same age as Lu Jinchuan and others, but he looks older than them.
The emperor was in a trance for a moment, and scenes from the past suddenly appeared before his eyes.
At that time he was not yet the crown prince, and his father asked him to go to the northwest to supervise the war.
His father had been wary of the Zhang family since his time, but at that time the border was surrounded by wolves, and Da Chu could not do without the Zhang family.
All they could do was to keep sending people to the army, trying to separate the military power of the Zhang family and train generals loyal to them.
Looking back now, what they did was not very secretive, but Zhang Yongping and his father never cared.
If they want to place people in the army, then let them in. If they want to use war to support these people, then give them the opportunity.
It’s a pity that these people either have no talent in marching and fighting, or are influenced by the Zhang family and are more convinced by them.
More than 20 years passed in a flash, and apart from the Zhang family, the Northwest Army had not produced a single capable general.
This moment of trance made the emperor's eyes more complicated and gentle. Zhang Yongping's suggestion...
He sighed: "It would be great if the Duke could be ten years younger."
Ten years ago, Zhang Yongping did not look as old and decadent as he does now.
"Your Majesty, I am still able to fight."
Zhang Yongping knelt on the ground and refused to get up. There was no one in the court. If the person going to the border was not him, then his daughter would become him.
The situation at the border must be extremely serious, as Qi Yu was seriously injured and had to abandon the city.
How could he let the queen take such a risk? If she failed, she would be cursed for all eternity.
The emperor just continued to shake his head, took a step forward, placed his big hand on Zhang Yongping's arm and helped him up.
Knowing that forcing was useless, Zhang Yongping no longer insisted, but frowned again, afraid that someone would mention the queen again.
The emperor patted his shoulder soothingly, then turned his gaze to look at other people, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp.
Lu Jinchuan learned his lesson this time and no longer dared to have any ulterior motives. He simply hid behind several other ministers.
The Minister of Revenue took a trembling step forward and said, "Your Majesty, we are all civil officials and are not very familiar with military generals. This... We don't know who can go to Hanyu Pass to recover the lost territory and take back Yucheng Pass."
Having been in charge of the purse strings of the Chu State for so many years, the Minister of Revenue has worked diligently and always considered the interests of the court in everything he does, and is the one most highly valued by the emperor.
Now that he stood up, even if the emperor was dissatisfied, he couldn't offend him.
Knowing that he would not get the answers he wanted from these people, the emperor glanced at them coldly and left again.
The people who were left alone in the square looked at each other, not knowing what to do next.
Song Junyan sent Lu Xinran back home, and when he finished his official business at the yamen, he rushed over and saw this scene.
Song Junhua came up to him with a smile, looked him up and down, and then said something sourly.
"Fourth brother is really leisurely, and he can even go out of the palace to see his fiancée."
Song Junyan just stood aside with the others and did not give any response.
The emperor returned to Wenhua Hall and looked at the military reports piled on the table, his heart beating fast.
There should be further war reports sent to the capital tonight. If the situation at the front is not optimistic...
The emperor could no longer sit still when he thought of this. He glanced at the sky outside the window, stood up and headed straight for Yongshou Palace.
The Queen Mother was preparing to have dinner, but the plain food did not betray her nobility.
Just as she picked up the bowl of soup, she heard the announcement. She quickly put the bowl down and looked towards the door.
"Why did you come here so suddenly? Have you had dinner yet?"
The empress dowager spoke as she called out, signaling the palace servants to quickly go to the imperial kitchen and bring over the emperor's dinner.
Before the palace maids left the house, Eunuch Fu came in with his men and brought in the food box.
Only after all the dishes were laid out and all the palace servants had left, leaving only the mother and son in the room, did the emperor let out a long sigh.
"But the candidate hasn't been decided yet?"
Although the Queen Mother had people suppress the Queen and prevent her from doing anything wrong, she was particularly attentive to the affairs of the previous dynasty.
Hearing the emperor's sigh, one could already guess the helplessness of having no generals available in the court.
"Mother, you said..."
Did he mean to say that he really wanted to place his hopes on the Queen?
But it has been more than 20 years since she returned to Beijing, and she has been away from the border for too long. She is no longer the free and easy female general who galloped on the battlefield.
The Queen Mother had guessed what he had swallowed back, but since he did not say it clearly, she pretended not to know and raised her hand to add another bowl of soup for the Emperor.
"Don't worry, there will always be a way out when the car reaches the mountain. We can always find a way out."
The emperor took the bowl of soup, somewhat dissatisfied with the empress dowager's avoidance.
"Mother, why don't you help your son?"
"Help? How can an old woman like me, waiting to die in the harem, help? After thinking about it, I think all I can do is to reduce the food supply so that the soldiers in the front can have more food."
The Empress Dowager's words were still evasive, and the Emperor had no choice but to speak.
"What do you think, son, would it be okay if I asked the Queen to go to the border?"
"not good."
The Queen Mother said without even thinking: "You just refuted the ministers' recommendation in the court today, but the next day you think their ideas are feasible. How can you still have the authority of a monarch if you go back on your words like this?"
emperor:"……"
He finally discovered that his mother was determined to go against him today.
He put down the bowl of soup with a headache: "Mother, your son is discussing this with you."
"I am telling you this, Emperor. Have you ever thought about the Empress?"
Speaking of this, the empress dowager felt that the emperor had been a bit of a scumbag over the years.
When there was no one available at the critical moment, he remembered that the queen had once led troops.
"Let's not talk about how you treated her over the years, how she endured the tormenting days step by step. Let's just say that you asked her to go to the border. If she is powerless and unable to reverse the situation, who will bear this responsibility?"
Who will bear the blame?
"You also said in the court that she is just a woman."
The emperor felt extremely uncomfortable being refuted by the empress dowager. Of course, he had thought about these things before.
But compared with the current urgency, these were nothing to him.
"Alright, I know you really have no other options, so you only think of the Queen. It's not impossible to ask her to fight for you, but you have to protect her."
Give her the peace of mind that she won't be blamed even if she loses the battle, and the confidence that the truth won't be buried in history books.
The emperor left in silence, and the empress dowager shook her head as she looked at his back.
What has her son been thinking all these years?